A driving force of Glasgow’s celebrated nightclub culture has called a change to the city's LEZ restrictions to boost the "struggling" night-time economy.
Donald MacLeod MBE, owner of Glasgow nightclubs The Garage and Cathouse Rock Club, believes the "discriminatory" restrictions should be lifted between 6pm and 6am.
Writing in The Herald on Monday, he said Glasgow "was once regarded as Scotland’s retail powerhouse and laid claim to being the UK's champion of the Night Time Economy" but now "in parts, lies empty and forlorn, with boarded up shops outnumbering those struggling to stay open and where a notorious Heras-fenced, litter-strewn trench, instead of a tree-lined pedestrianised boulevard, now greets visitors entering Sauchiehall Street".
READ MORE: Donald Macleod: LEZ restrictions should be lifted from 6pm-6am to save city centre
Referencing the introduction of the city's LEZ in June last year, Mr MacLeod said that it formed part of "the council's unrelenting attacks on the motorist" which have "contributed to the dramatic drops in footfall and the creation of what could be dubbed a 'low economy zone'".
Mr MacLeod cites the lifting of the city’s LEZ's restrictions from 6pm to 6am as a way to help boost Glasgow's "struggling" night time economy.
He also advocates for further "constructive" steps to "help Glasgow thrive and halt its damaging and depressing decline", such as "replacing the punishing fining system with a daily use charge" and "lowering the parking rates not increasing them".
A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “Poor air quality presents a serious risk to public health and so Glasgow’s LEZ is a crucial and proportionate measure to tackle the harmful pollution that has blighted the city centre for decades.
“Glasgow’s LEZ was introduced because of longstanding breaches of the annual mean nitrogen dioxide objectives - with emissions at all times contributing to these breaches. As such, our LEZ scheme operates continuously to maximise the effectiveness of the air quality benefits it can deliver.
“By reducing levels of harmful pollutants, we can create a safer and more pleasant experience for everyone who visits, works and lives in the city centre.”
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